With just eight games left to play in the regular season, the Yankees are far from a perfect team.

Their lineup feels the absence of Mark Teixeira, the outfield has seen slumps from Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury and they’re hoping Masahiro Tanaka’s strained right hamstring is healthy enough to get back on the mound before the playoffs.

But one aspect that separates them from most other teams is the back of the bullpen and it was on full display in Saturday’s 2-1 win over the White Sox in what the Yankees would love to be a sneak preview of the playoffs.

After Adam Warren overcame a rocky first inning and left after six with a one-run lead, manager Joe Girardi’s trusted trio of Justin Wilson, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller took care of the rest.

They retired all nine batters they faced, striking out four, as the Yankees remained four back in the AL East with the Blue Jays winning yet again against Tampa Bay. Still, they inched closer to securing the top wild-card spot, which seems almost certain to be their landing spot.

“There’s no way we have this opportunity without those three guys [being] as good as they’ve been,” Girardi said. “When you have a lead and you turn it over to them, you feel really good. … Not every team can say that. These guys have been consistent, they’ve been durable. It’s a luxury to have that.”

The Royals rode a similar gameplan to the seventh game of the World Series a year ago, with Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland.

Though the Yankees may lack the folksy, Midwestern charm the underdog Royals had, they likely will look to use a similar formula.

On Saturday, it took the form of Warren surrendering an early run thanks to three first-inning singles. He avoided further damage by getting Adam LaRoche to hit into an inning-ending double play.

But the offense, which largely had been stuck in neutral, stayed silent through the first five innings against Chicago lefty John Danks.

The bats finally awoke when Jacoby Ellsbury started the sixth with a single and then swiped second. The struggling Chase Headley followed with a ground rule double to left-center to tie the game at 1-1.

Dellin BetancesChristopher Pasatieri

Alex Rodriguez gave the Yankees their first lead by ripping another ground rule double, this one off third baseman Mike Olt and into the stands to make it 2-1.

The outburst from the offense, though, was as fleeting as it was sudden and the Yankees didn’t score again.

That proved not to be a problem, as Girardi went to his bullpen after Warren threw 88 pitches.

Wilson needed just 12 pitches to finish the seventh before Betances entered.

Betances, who had walked seven in his previous four outings, looked like his old self with a perfect eighth.

“I just tried to attack the hitters,” Betances said. “That’s the difference. I [had been] getting behind and didn’t want to make a mistake.”

Girardi said he expected Betances to bounce back.

“I wasn’t worried about him,” Girardi said. “They’re not going to be perfect. Even [Mariano Rivera] wasn’t perfect. … He got back on track. I’ve got a lot of faith in him, I can tell you that.”

And Girardi would like to have plenty of chances in October to use all three.

Betances spent last fall watching the Royals’ bullpen and liked what he saw.

“The three horses at the back end were fun to watch,” Betances said. “We like our chances no matter what. … We have weapons. Lefty, righty, we can go whatever we want. Once the playoffs start, if they want me to go three innings I’ll go three innings.”